The Rhythm of the Rain (Patrick Stump / Fall Out Boy Fanfic)

Chapter 7 - We're Last Chances

Patrick Stump

When I woke up, the first sight to grace my eyes was a beautiful watercolor phoenix tattoo. I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to the garish morning light, and stared at the phoenix. Its wings spread gloriously over two pointed shoulder blades, and part of the middle of it was blocked by a thin, dark blue bra strap. The tattoo was made up of watercolor splashes of red, orange, and yellow, beautifully contrasting itself with the pale skin surrounding it, and perfectly matching the curly red hair that laid on the pillow beside it. The tail of the phoenix curved just below a set of ribs that stuck out a little from beneath the skin, and the very tip of its tail disappeared behind a pair of lacy purple panties.

The phoenix moved, the muscles beneath it rippling slightly as the body it was attached to rolled over with a sigh. I wondered briefly who the phoenix belonged to; I had never seen this tattoo in my life, and I didn't immediately recognize the body lying beside me in bed. I sat up slowly and looked around the hotel room, my head pounding suddenly. I held a hand to my head, willing it to stop, and laid back down in resignation. I sighed loudly, forgetting there was someone in bed with me, and continued to run my hands over my face.

The bed moved beneath me, also hurting my head, and whoever it was sat up with a groan. I glanced over and she stretched her arms, the phoenix tattoo moving with her, then held her head like I had. Well, at least I know I wasn't the only one completely hammered last night. I couldn't even remember what happened last night. Were the guys with me? I hope they all made it back to the hotel if they were. Hell, was I even in my hotel room? Or my hotel, for that matter? I looked around again and upon finding a woman's bag and a purse on the table, I decided that no, I was not in my own room.

I looked at the woman again, her hair now covering the head of the phoenix on her back. She was a very tiny girl, but something about that hair made my heart race in my chest and my breathing slow. It was familiar, and she was beautiful. She looked around for a moment, still without facing me, and I started to panic. Where I had I found her and why had I brought her back here? She still had underwear on, so it couldn't be that. I reached down just in case and found my boxers still on me, which calmed me down the slightest bit. I looked up at her again and tried my damnedest to remember, but it just wasn't coming to me. Instead, it only served to make my headache worse.

Did she even know I was here? She rubbed at her eyes for a long moment, as if trying to imagine that the hangover was gone, much like I had, but it was a long time before she finally turned to me and I remembered. Everything flooded back to me in one huge wave, plowing right into my hungover head like a ton of bricks. My jaw dropped and hers did too, neither of us believing what we were seeing. Her makeup was a little smeared under her eyes, and her lipstick all but gone. She still looked radiant with the sun shining around her, but she slowly pulled the blanket up to cover her chest. I was in bed with Lily Matthews, my friend and makeup artist, and we were both in nothing but our underwear, in an unfamiliar hotel room. What had we done last night?

Suddenly, I could remember in great detail what we had done last night. We had gotten shit-faced drunk, I had asked her to dance, and she'd said yes. We stood far too close for "just friends," and held each other far too intimately for "simply platonic." And then we kissed. And my God, did I wish I could remember that kiss a little more vividly. From what I did remember, it had been amazing, and part of me wanted to do it again. The other part of me was still horrified by the fact that we'd even done it once.

I remembered her dragging me back to the hotel we were all staying at, and I remembered following her to her room. I recalled rolling around in the sheets with her for a while, struggling just to get our shirts off, and unable to keep my lips off of her. Something about being almost naked together had sobered us a bit, and we had decided to stop where we were. I'm glad we didn't go any farther, yet I wondered what might have happened if we did.